


A Flash Of Trouble

by Katyakora



Series: Coldwestallen Week [11]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: ColdWestAllen Week, Drinking, Drunken Confessions, Multi, Truth Serum, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 06:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10870893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katyakora/pseuds/Katyakora
Summary: An evening drinking with friends leads to a few awkward confessions that complicate Barry and Iris's relationship. A bit of brutal honesty may be the only cure.





	A Flash Of Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> ColdWestAllen Week Spring 2017 Day 4: Envy
> 
> Warning: DO NOT DRINK LABORATORY GRADE ETHANOL!!! Barry's super metabolism is the only reason he's not dead from alcohol poisoning.

“Okay, okay, I’ve got one,” Julian slurred, his beer bottle swinging precariously from between his slack fingers. The STAR labs crew had decided to have a few drinks in the spirit of getting to know Julian better. This had somehow devolved into drinking games, somewhere around the same time Cisco suggested that Barry try doing shots of laboratory grade ethanol in an effort to actually get drunk. The fact that this suggestion worked just meant things devolved even further.

 

“Okay, so, never have I ever,” Julian paused to hiccup, “never have I ever...fancied one of Barry’s bad guys.”

 

Cisco, Iris, Barry and Caitlin immediately erupted into drunken giggles.

 

“I’m sorry, never have I ever _what?_ ” Cisco managed to ask through his chuckles. Julian rolled his eyes theatrically at them.

 

“You know, fancied? Been into them,” he explained derisively, “like, if it wasn’t for the whole ‘bad guy’ thing and they were up for it, you’d be in there.”

 

“Drink!” Caitlin and Cisco both shouted triumphantly, pointing at each other. Julian’s eyebrows shot up.

 

“Cisco and I once spent an evening ‘rating’ everyone in the pipeline,” Caitlin explained a little sheepishly into her drink.

 

“Plus, Cisco actually made out with Lisa Snart,” Barry added as he poured himself another shot.

 

“Lisa Snart?” Julian repeated incredulously. “You actually made out with Captain Cold’s little sister?”

 

“Yep,” Cisco popped wistfully, “the one and only.” He blinked and frowned at Julian. “No judging me, okay? This,” he gestured vaguely around them with one hand, “this is a no judgement zone, okay?”

 

“No judgement zone,” Iris agreed vehemently, raising her glass and prompting the others to copy her words and motion in agreement.

 

“Alright,” Julian continued, “what about you two?” He jerked his chin in Iris and Barry’s direction. They both looked up with wide, innocent eyes as Caitlin and Cisco swung their heads to look accusingly at them.

 

“You both drank? Do tell!” Cisco insisted with an evil smirk.

 

“Iris? Barry?” Caitlin asked, looking genuinely curious. Iris and Barry looked back and forth between them and each other, opening and closing their mouths like nervous goldfish.

 

“No judgement zone,” Julian reminded them all.

 

“Oh, you’ll be judging me,” Barry muttered into his shot glass, " _I’m_ judging me."

 

“It can’t be that bad,” Caitlin insisted. “A few wayward thoughts about a person’s attractiveness are perfectly normal.”

 

“Well, considering they’re Barry’s bad guys, it is a little awkward, for him at least,” Cisco pointed out.

 

“More than a little,” Barry seconded.

 

“Isn’t that the whole point of the game, though?” Caitlin interjected, “To admit to things we wouldn’t otherwise admit to?”

 

“Okay, fine,” Barry caved, “but you gotta swear no judgement!”

 

“No judgement zone,” four voices chorused, glasses raised.

 

“And Iris has to admit too,” Cisco reminded her.

 

With a sigh, Iris raised her glass to clink it against Barry’s in solidarity. Barry downed the shot, coughed and took a deep breath.

 

“Leonard Snart.”

 

“Shit, me too!”

 

Iris’s hand flew up to cover her mouth as soon as she realised what she’d just blurted out. Barry was staring at her in shock, while the others all looked at the pair of them with gobsmacked expressions.

 

“You both had a thing for Snart?” Caitlin gasped.

 

“Hey, no judgement zone, remember!” Iris exclaimed and pointed, pouting just a little.

 

“True, true, no judgement,” Cisco appeased quickly, raising his palms and then shrugging. “I mean, who wouldn’t be a little tempted by those eyes...that smirk…”

 

“Sounds like they’re not the only ones with a thing for Cold,” Julian teased him.

 

“Hey, dude, you never met them,” Cisco argued. “The Snart’s are...they’re human hurricanes. You just...can’t help getting swept up by them.”

 

“You know…” Caitlin began slowly, “that brings us to my turn, ‘cause this is something I’ve been suspicious ‘bout for a while.” Her narrowed, if slightly cross-eyed, gaze pinned Cisco and he visibly paled. “Never have I ever... _slept_ with one of Barry’s bad guys.”

 

Cisco shut his eyes and hissed a breath in through his teeth, clenched his fist and pressed it to his mouth for a moment, before sculling the last of his drink very quickly while not looking at any of them.

 

“Oh my god, you slept with Lisa Snart!” Cailin shrieked. Julian looked shocked yet reluctantly impressed.

 

“I-It was one time!” Cisco spluttered, blushing deeply. “And, I mean, come on! There is no universe where I am capable of saying no to _her_!”

 

“I knew it! I knew it!” Caitlin crowed. Julian slow clapped, shaking his head at the pair of them. It was only then that Cisco turned his head and caught sight of the way Barry was looking at Iris.

 

“You drank,” Barry accused softly, sounding like he could barely believe it. Iris’s head whipped around to look at him, wide-eyed and blushing.

 

“Um...I was kinda hoping no one spotted that,” she admitted quietly.

 

“Iris, you drank?” Cisco asked, delightedly scandalised.

 

“I-well...look, it was a couple months after Eddie died.” Immediately, the mood in the room grew heavier as Iris confessed. “I was just, feeling angry at everything, and Barry wasn’t talking to any of us, and I was, I was feeling frustrated and...and when I was out one night, I ran into him and figured, what the hell? Perfect opportunity to work out my frustrations with zero guilt. So…” She trailed off, hunching into her shoulders under their scrutiny.

 

“So you had angry hate-sex,” Cisco finished for her. Iris scrunched her face up and nodded guiltily.

 

“Okay, but who?” Julian asked, leaning forward as though he expected her to whisper. Iris winced, pressed her lips together and took a deep breath.

 

“Leonard Snart.”

 

There was an uproar following her confession, containing a lot of shocked swearing. Barry alone remained silent, just staring at her slackjawed.

 

“Okay, okay, but most important question-” Cisco calmed them all down, only for Caitlin to cut in and finish for him.

 

“Was he any good?” she asked. Cisco snapped his fingers and nodded at her, looking to Iris eagerly for her response. Iris closed her eyes and nodded, as though she no longer trusted herself to speak.

 

“What is that, like, in the top five?” Cisco demanded, Caitlin next to him looking just as eager for details.

 

Iris reluctantly raised two fingers. “Top two.” A further cacophony of exclamations followed her admission, but Iris focused on Barry, who had yet to say a word.

 

“Barry?” she addressed him tentatively. “Are you...mad?”

 

“What?” he blinked, seemingly coming back to reality. “No, no, I’m not, I’m not mad,” he assured her with a weak chuckle, as though the idea was laughable. “I just-I mean, I never thought...wow, really? Leonard Snart?”

 

“Yeah,” she said before adding hastily, “and we sort of mutually agreed never to talk about it, so, you know, this stays in the no judgement zone.”

 

“Oh, of course,” Caitlin assured her.

 

“No one would believe us anyway,” Julian added, to which Cisco nodded.

 

“Alright, now that the monumental confessions are over, my turn!” Cisco announced, deciding to move the game along. “Never have I ever…”

 

Later that night, Barry lay awake staring at the ceiling while Iris snored softly next to him. Every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was Iris and Leonard. He could imagine with perfect clarity the way their skin would slide together and his ears would fill with phantom moans and sighs. Every time, a fire ignited in his gut and his entire body twitched, aching to act, but he had no idea what he even wanted to do. He knew that he want to get his hands on Snart, but he couldn't seem to plan beyond that. He didn't want to, either. Jealousy was an ugly part of yourself to acknowledge but Barry really wasn't in a position to deny it. He was familiar with jealousy, had felt pangs of it every time Iris had introduced him to a new boyfriend over the years. What he couldn't understand was why this time, it didn't feel quite right.

 

Things got a little hectic after that night, and Barry didn't get another chance to examine those feelings. Not until he found himself standing in front of Captain Cold himself.

 

The circumstances could not have been worse. A new metahuman had decided to test herself against him, and one of her psionically controlled mutant plants had managed to slash his legs badly while the newly dubbed ‘Thorn’ made her escape. At least the hostages she’d taken were okay. He limped over to them, barely able to put any weight on his left leg, let alone run. He got to work ripping apart the vines she’d entangled them in, the terrified hostages all running off rather quickly after thanking him. He reached the last hostage, a middle-aged woman wearing far too much make-up, who was shaking and murmuring something under her breath.

 

“Hey, it’s okay,” he assured her, approaching slowly with his hands out where she could see. “Just give me a second to get you out of here.”

 

As he gripped the vines and pulled, he felt a strange sensation wash through him, like a vibration rippling through his whole body.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” the woman sobbed as she pulled herself free of the now loosened vines. He realised that was what she’d been muttering as he approached. “I’m so sorry, Flash, I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear! Please don’t put me in prison.”

 

“I-what? What are you talking about?” Barry asked, baffled by her babbling. She took a few shaky breaths.

 

“I...I’m a metahuman, okay? Usually, it’s fine, it doesn’t mean anything because I can control it, I swear! But, when I, when I get scared, I can’t help it. I’m so sorry, I would never do this to you on purpose!”

 

“I felt something before. That was you,” Barry realised out loud. “What was it? What did you do to me?”

 

“I kind of force people to tell the truth,” she told him apologetically, her face full of sympathy.

 

“She’s a human truth-serum?” Cisco commented over the comms. “That’s not so bad.”

 

“I know it doesn’t sound that bad, but trust me, it can get ugly.” The woman continued, unaware of the commentary in Barry’s ear. She winced. “So, you may want to just, y’know, hide for the next twenty-four hours or so? It should wear off by then.”

 

“I can’t do that, I have responsibilities,” Barry answered automatically. The words just slipped out with no conscious thought. Barry took a deep breath, thinking. Truth wasn’t the worst thing he’d ever been whammied with, he could probably handle it. “Ma’am, I appreciate you being honest with me about this. Is there a way I can contact you, in case there are any complications or I have any questions?”

 

“Oh, yes, here,” she answered with a look of surprise, before rummaging through her purse and handing him a business card for one Dr Tiffany Babcock, a dentist apparently. “I really am sorry about this, Flash.”

 

“It’s okay, I understand how hard it can be to control meta abilities. When I get turned on, I tend to vibrate.” It was honestly a little terrifying how easily the awkward confession slipped out. He froze, mortified. Tiffany’s eyes went wide before she carefully schooled her expression.

 

“Wow, list of things I did not need to know about my best friend just got bigger,” Cisco deadpanned over the comms. “Iris, get that smirk off your face, you are not helping with the mental images!” In the background, Barry heard Iris cackle, and he mentally thanked fate for having those two be the only ones in the cortex right now.

 

“Oh. Well, I definitely recommend the ‘hide’ option,” Tiffany responded finally. “Thanks for saving me. And good luck!” she called sincerely as she left.

 

“So, truth meta,” Cisco said conversationally as Barry limped out of the mildly destroyed building into a dark alleyway, taking note of his surroundings and a familiar flickering neon sign. “Barry, feel free to just not respond for the next while. We’ll figure something out.”

 

“I can’t help it, I speak the truth even when I try not to say anything,” Barry whined. A lead weight dropped into his stomach as he began to realise that this may be harder than he thought. “It might be easier if people just don’t talk to me.”

 

“That might be best,” Iris answered over the comms, a hint of mirth in her voice.

 

“I’m still too injured to run,” Barry informed them, testing his leg. “Were you able to track Thorn?”

 

“Working on it,” Cisco muttered, the sound of keys tapping in the background. “How long do you think before you can run again?”

 

“About twenty minutes?”

 

“Are you somewhere safe?” Iris asked.

 

“No, I’m alone and injured in a dark alleyway behind Saints and Sinners,” Barry said instead of the reassurance he’d meant to give. He grimaced. “I’m not too injured to defend myself if I have to, though.”

 

“Good, because it’d take us twenty just to get to you,” Cisco responded. “Just sit tight and heal up. Yell if you’re being mugged.”

 

Barry responded with an affirmative and leaned heavily against the brick wall, pulling back his cowl as he took long, calming breaths. The next twenty four hours were definitely going to be embarrassing. Still, he doubted it would be worse than the Bivolo incident. He would just have to avoid people as much as possible for a day. That should be easy enough. He jerked at the sudden sound of the door at the end of the alley opening and shutting, freezing in place and hoping the shadows were enough to hide him. Apparently, he failed miserably, because the person who’d just stepped out looked straight at him immediately.

 

“Scarlet?”

 

“Oh no,” he groaned to himself, feeling like the universe was playing some cosmic practical joke on him. “Oh, please no!”

 

“Was that who I think it was?” He heard Iris say in the background.

 

“Oh shit. Welp, this is about to get interesting,” Cisco muttered in his comms.

 

Leonard Snart frowned at Barry as he approached, taking in his bloody uniform and horrified expression.

 

“What the hell happened to you?”

 

“I just fought a meta and I really do not want to be talking to you right now,” Barry said into his hands, as though by covering his eyes, Leonard might magically disappear. He peaked between his fingers to see Leonard giving him an affronted look.

 

“Why? What did I ever do to you?” he demanded harshly. “Lately,” he amended after a pause.

 

“I got whammied by a truth meta and you had sex with Iris!”

 

Barry had tried to stay silent, he really did. He threw every shred of his will power into it, to no avail. He clamped his hands over his mouth in horror, but of course it was too late. Over the comms, all he heard was a horrified whisper of “Oh my god.”

 

Leonard froze, his eyes wide in shock. A flash of uncomfortable guilt crossed his face before it was replaced by a mask of irritation. He narrowed his eyes at Barry, crossing his arms over his chest in what was clearly meant to be an intimidating pose, but to Barry he just looked uncomfortable.

 

“She told you,” he stated.

 

Barry nodded. Leonard scowled.

 

“Why the hell would she tell you?” He seemed to be saying it more to himself than Barry, but unfortunately, Barry was compelled to answer.

 

“It came up.”

 

“You’re kidding,” Leonard deadpanned incredulously. “You seriously expect me to believe that _that_ just came up in casual conversation?”

 

“Actually it was during a game of ‘Never have I ever’.”

 

“Oh god,” Iris groaned over the comms.

 

Leonard sighed deeply and pinched his nose. “Tell me that was _all_ she said?”

 

“No, she was also *ahem* very complimentary,” Barry couldn’t help but supply. He was beet red now, and slid down the brick wall to sit heavily on the dirty concrete, sickeningly aware that he had lost all control of the situation.

 

“Really?” Leonard asked, his eyes lighting up in genuinely pleased surprise.

 

“Please, stop talking!” Iris begged futilely over the comms.

 

“Yes, I’m sorry, I can’t stop myself,” Barry groaned miserably. He scowled at Leonard. “Please stop asking me about this!”

 

“Let me guess,” Leonard drawled with a look of condescension as he knelt down to Barry’s level. “You have a problem with it?”

 

“Of course I have a problem with it, my girlfriend had sex with you!” Barry snapped angrily. Leonard just rolled his eyes, like Barry’s anger meant nothing to him.

 

“It happened well before you two got together. Why should you even care?”

 

“Because I saw you first!”

 

A void of heavy silence followed Barry’s declaration. He screwed his eyes shut and hid his blazing face in his hands once more. His thundering pulse rang in his ears as the awkward, stunned silence stretched out above him. He could hear distant noises over the comms, but nothing coherent and he wasn’t really paying attention. Barry was far more concerned about the man in front of him, to whom he’d just shouted his feelings at.

 

“Well, Scarlet,” Leonard finally spoke after swallowing roughly, “you certainly know how to make a guy feel special.” The response sounded oddly hesitant, as though his brain had automatically supplied the rejoinder out of habit but he wasn’t quite sure if it was appropriate. “I had no idea you felt that way.”

 

“Until I said it, _I_ had no idea I felt that way,” Barry admitted. “I really, really wish I could run away right now.”

 

That last comment managed to punch a chuckle out of Leonard.

 

“I’ll bet you do,” he murmured.

 

Barry finally peeked through his fingers to see the incredulous and awestruck look on his face. Barry seemed to have shocked him right out of his usual walls and masks, because it was the most open and unguarded expression he’d ever seen Leonard wear. His eyes were wide and bright, his parted lips were curled at the edges. He looked soft, almost fond. Barry didn’t even notice his hands dropping down as he stared.

 

“I kind of want to kiss you,” his traitorous lips let slip. Leonard’s eyes widened further and his jaw dropped.

 

“Oh damn!” Cisco exclaimed over the comms. Barry had actually forgotten anyone else was listening. He remembered that Iris was standing in the cortex, listening to every damning word, and a roiling ball of guilt settled in his stomach. Leonard seemed to have the same thought, once he’d picked up his jaw.

 

“I think your girlfriend might have something to say about that,” he pointed out mildly, still a little dazed.

 

“I do, and it is that you have my full permission,” Iris hurriedly assured Barry, sounding a little breathless. “Honey, you want it, go for it.” She must have swiped the mic because Cisco could be heard sputtering protests in the background.

 

“She just gave me permission,” Barry said weakly, the statement sounding more like a question.

 

Leonard sucked in a breath, his sharp eyes scanning every inch of Barry’s face. Barry thought he must look like a deer in the headlights, a mess in his torn and bloody suit. His heart hammered as he saw something settled in Leonard’s face, as though he’d come to a decision.

 

“Well?” he drawled, a familiar challenging smirk appearing on his face. “What’s stopping you?”

 

“I’m afraid,” Barry whispered, taking a moment to lick his suddenly dry lips. Leonard’s eyes tracked the motion. “I’m afraid that you’re just messing with me now that you know I’m attracted to you.” Barry winced at the bald wording, but Leonard took it in stride.

 

“Scarlet, I may be a villain, but I’m not an asshole,” Leonard assured him gently.

 

It was only now that Barry noticed how close they were, Barry sitting against the wall and Leonard on one knee next to him. Leonard was close enough that all Barry would have to do was lean over and he could kiss the infuriating smirk off Leonard’s face. Leonard just watched and waited patiently while Barry warred with himself. The whole situation was surreal, Leonard’s offer and Iris’s approval were absurd. And yet he wanted to do it. Partly to appease that ugly little part of him that was envious of Iris for having gotten a taste of something he’d held himself back from for so long, and partly because he had wanted this for so long that he hadn’t realised how much until it was on the table.

 

Barry gave up and gave in, surging forward to close the distance between them. Leonard jerked in surprise at the sudden movement, but quickly reciprocated, matching Barry pressure for pressure and slipping his hand behind Barry’s neck. Barry groaned as the kiss deepened, the slide of Leonard’s tongue sending sparks down his spine. His hand had slid up to cradle Leonard’s jaw, his other hand fisted in the material of his jacket, holding him in place as though Barry were afraid he would change his mind halfway through.

 

“God I wish I could see what’s happening right now.”

 

“I don’t!”

 

Iris’s breathy whisper and Cisco’s exclamation caused Barry to jerk back with a jolt. Leonard’s chased him for half a second before he caught himself, looking at Barry with guarded concern and glistening lips.

 

“What?” he asked. If Barry didn’t know any better, he’d say that Leonard seemed nervous.

 

“Iris just said she wished she could see what’s happening,” Barry answered.

 

“I’ll bet she does,” Leonard purred, the words and cadence sending a rush of heat through Barry’s body. He wondered, hoped, for a moment that Leonard was going to kiss him again, but instead he climbed to his feet and held out a hand. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride back to STAR so you can get that leg healed up. And maybe find some duct tape for your mouth.”

 

“Thanks,” Barry said sincerely as he let Leonard pull him to his feet. He hissed when he put weight on his bad leg, and Leonard ducked under his shoulder to support him without a word. Barry waited for the lead weight of guilt and regret to return, but none came. “Huh. I don’t regret that.” He groaned. “But I hate being compelled to tell the truth constantly.”

 

“I’m a fan, personally,” Leonard drawled, snickering in the face of Barry’s scowl and Barry couldn’t help but notice the soft smile that stayed at the edge of Leonard's lips all the way to his car.

 

They managed to get back to STAR labs without Barry having to say another word. The car ride had felt charged, the spectre of a kiss and a past tryst hanging heavy in the air. Barry kept sneaking glances at Leonard, trying to figure out what was going through his head, and whether or not he’d kissed Barry just to make him feel better. Barry didn’t know if he could stomach it if it had just been pity. They entered the cortex to find Iris alone waiting for them, a smirk on her face as she wordless held out a roll of duct tape to Barry.

 

“Thank you!” he sighed in relief, accepting her gift eagerly. “I love you.”

 

She smiled warmly, the sentiment all the sweeter with the knowledge that there was no doubt it was true.

 

“Cisco called Julian and told him about the truth meta,” she explained. “ _Just_ that you’d been whammied,” she added with emphasis. Barry’s relief was clear even behind a strip of duct tape. “They’re waiting for you in the medbay, Julian wants to run some tests. And, just so you know, Cisco has been sworn to secrecy.”

 

Barry clasped his palms together in a gesture of gratitude, and with one last loaded glance at Leonard, he headed off towards the medbay. That left Leonard and Iris standing alone in the cortex together.

 

“So,” Leonard drawled after a long moment, “you told him.”

 

“In all fairness, I never expected anyone to point-blank ask me if I’d ever slept with one of Barry’s enemies,” Iris defended tiredly.

 

“At least that was all you told him.”

 

She gave him a sly, sideways look.

 

“Considering what I just heard, I’m starting to think maybe I should have told him more,” she said slowly, carefully gauging his response. He tilted his head to regard her back.

 

“Why Iris West, are you still looking for trouble?”

 

She laughed, recalling the first night they’d met. She’d had a few drinks by that point, and been bold enough to tell him that she was pissed and looking for trouble. She’d given him the option of joining her or leaving her to find someone else and he’d surprised them both when he took her up on her offer. Ultimately, neither of them had regretted their hasty decision, nor the few times it had happened after that whenever one of them felt a particular need for stress relief.

 

“I thought I _was_ trouble?” she asked innocently. He’d taken to calling her that after their first night together, and she knew her number was under that name in his phone.

 

“Always,” he assured her sincerely, “and the best kind. But as much as I like trouble, I’m not a huge fan of mess. You and Barry should probably have a long overdue and brutally honest conversation.”

 

“True,” Iris admitted with a sigh. “But, assuming that goes well,” she gave him a dark smirk that never failed to make his pulse jump, “what are you doing Friday night?”

 

He smirked back.

 

“With any luck? Finding a flash of trouble.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is ridiculous but it was so much fun to write.


End file.
